Professor: University fired me over Guard duty

Apr. 18, 2013 - 07:30PM
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PITTSBURGH — A medical doctor who worked as a part-time professor at California University of Pennsylvania says the state-owned school got rid of him because of time he missed fulfilling his service commitments to the Pennsylvania Army National Guard.

The lawsuit filed in Washington County contends the university violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, which is meant to safeguard the civilian jobs of people called away for military service.

Dr. Zackary Dawson, of Canonsburg, says he began teaching part-time at the school in January 2010 and was offered a full-time job he hoped would begin in January 2013.

But Dawson was called away for Guard duty for two weeks in September and for four weeks in November, shortly after which the school stopped employing him, citing student complaints.